Wanyonyi stunned by Britain’s Burgin as Koech breaks record at Rabat Diamond League
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Reading Time: 2min | Mon. 01.06.26. | 09:16
The 800m Olympic champion was largely expected to dominate and win the race easily, but that was not the case
Kenyan athletes delivered fairly decent performances at the Rabat Diamond League meeting in Morocco, on Sunday, with Simon Koech, Edmund Serem, Lilian Odira and Emmanuel Wanyonyi finishing inside the top three bracket in their respective events.
The standout Kenyan performance came in the men's 3000m steeplechase, where Simon Koech smashed his personal best despite finishing third in a historic race won by Morocco’s Olympic and world champion, Soufiane El Bakkali.
El Bakkali thrilled the home crowd by clocking a world-leading 7:57.25 to secure his fifth consecutive Diamond League victory in Rabat.
Germany’s Frederik Ruppert followed closely in a European record of 7:57.80, while Koech completed the podium in a personal best of 7:59.44, making it only the third race in history in which the top three athletes finished under eight minutes.
Fellow Kenyan Edmund Serem also impressed, finishing fourth in a personal best of 8:01.61 to underline Kenya’s strength in the event despite missing out on victory.
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In the women's 800m, reigning world champion Lilian Odira continued her fine form with a third-place finish in 1:57.27.
The race was won by Switzerland’s Audrey Werro, who stormed to a meeting record and world-leading time of 1:56.56 on her season debut.
Ethiopia’s Olympic silver medallist Tsige Duguma finished second in 1:57.24.
Kenya’s Olympic and world champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi had to settle for second place in the men's 800m after being beaten by Great Britain's Max Burgin.
Burgin produced a dominant performance to clock a world-leading 1:42.98, the fastest outdoor time recorded this season.
Wanyonyi crossed the line second in 1:43.56, while Algeria’s Slimane Moula completed the podium in 1:43.73.
Elsewhere, several meeting records fell during an action-packed evening.
American Kenny Bednarek won the men's 200m in a meeting record 19.69 ahead of Olympic champion Letsile Tebogo, while fellow American Joe Kovacs produced a world-leading 22.58m to claim victory in the shot put.
The Rabat meeting also witnessed world-leading performances from Slovakia’s Emma Zapletalova in the women's 400m hurdles and Switzerland’s Audrey Werro in the women's 800m, highlighting the high quality of competition on display.
